By Joelle Anthony
Published by Putnam Juvenile
Released on May 13th, 2010
Source- The Teen Scene Blog Tours
4 Stars- It's a Good Read
The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.
Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.
Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour (quoted from Goodreads).
I'll admit, I can be bias to books set in the Pacific Northwest, which is one of the things that drew me to this book. This year I have read a handful of amazing dystopian books, and that's saying a lot as I'm not a huge dystopian fan. Well I should say it takes a certain style of writing for a dystopian book to really grab my attention and Restoring Harmony is one of them. Being set in the year 2041 in both British Columbia and Portland, Restoring Harmony had my attention.
What I liked about Restoring Harmony is how realistic some of the elements felt. In a time where most of the world's oil has run out, travel is restricted, communication is almost non existent, there's little food, spastic heath care, most everyone is poor and a fallen government who's lack of leadership has paved the way for organized crime to take control, the world in which the story takes place has little hope and a lot of uncertainty. It's during this time that the story's heroine, Molly, becomes a source of hope to those around her. Having grown up on her family's farm in Canada, being self reliant has become second nature to her, and will be a key to her survival in a world has chaotic as hers.
Restoring Harmony has something unique, in that there are a few character journeys that are all entwined within the story. It worked with the story, as I liked getting to know some of the supporting characters, while getting to know more about Molly. Molly's journey takes her from her family's humble farm in Canada to Portland, OR to find her grandparents. Once there she is to convince her Grandfather to make the trek back her, as the island she's from in British Columbia, has no doctor and her mother is in need of one. It's during this long, hard trek that Molly's quest also becomes a journey of self discovery. I really liked seeing how Molly and Spill's relationship developed through the course of the book. Spill comes into Molly's life when it seems she needed his help the most. What I like about Spill, is he too is on a character journey and is one of the more in-depth characters. In many ways, they become a source of survival for each other, and it's through this that their friendship grows and becomes something stronger. While the world is in constant transition, so are the stories of many of the characters.
While Restoring Harmony has many dystopian elements to it, many times I felt like I was reading a real story with a lot of "what- ifs". While the story is futuristic, it was easy to relate to the feeling of helplessness, despair and loss and then jumping into survival mode by finding hope, trust and friendships. Restoring Harmony is a quick read and one I would definitely recommend picking it up.
Tomorrow we will have an interview with Joelle Anthony and giveaway!! Be sure to visit us tomorrow for more on Restoring Harmony.